Speed Week: Deutsch Marques

Eins, zwei, drei... SLS AMG Black, M135i and RS6 head through the mountains to join the TG party in France

But the fellow who's recently fallen awkwardly down through the aperture of its gullwing door and into its snug, dark driver's post is less emperor, more gibbering serf. I've driven a lot of fast cars (fairly) fast, but this one leaves a first impression of such brutal sharpness that I don't mind admitting I start out intimidated. At a dawdle, it's juddery and rattly. But speed isn't easy, either: when the road really opens up and there's the chance to get close to the theoretical and legal 196mph top speed, my right ankle refuses to stay extended. Aiming the car between the barrier and a lorry being sucked backwards at three-figure speed needs a steady hand, and the steering's nervy directness isn't helping.